Olympus E-330 vs Panasonic S3
65 Imaging
41 Features
40 Overall
40


96 Imaging
37 Features
24 Overall
31
Olympus E-330 vs Panasonic S3 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 7MP - Four Thirds Sensor
- 2.5" Tilting Screen
- ISO 100 - 400 (Boost to 1600)
- No Video
- Micro Four Thirds Mount
- 616g - 140 x 87 x 72mm
- Announced March 2006
- Additionally Known as EVOLT E-330
- Earlier Model is Olympus E-300
- Replacement is Olympus E-450
(Full Review)
- 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 2.7" Fixed Screen
- ISO 100 - 6400
- Optical Image Stabilization
- 1280 x 720 video
- 28-112mm (F3.1-5.6) lens
- 117g - 99 x 59 x 21mm
- Introduced January 2011

Olympus E-330 vs Panasonic S3 Overview
Its time to look a bit more in depth at the Olympus E-330 vs Panasonic S3, one being a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a crucial gap among the image resolutions of the E-330 (7MP) and S3 (14MP) and the E-330 (Four Thirds) and S3 (1/2.3") feature totally different sensor measurements.

The E-330 was manufactured 5 years prior to the S3 and that is a fairly serious gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-330 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic S3 being a Compact camera.
Before we go through a complete comparison, below is a quick synopsis of how the E-330 grades versus the S3 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Olympus E-330 vs Panasonic S3 Gallery
Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-330 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-S3. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus E-330 Gallery and Panasonic S3 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-330 over the Panasonic S3
E-330 | S3 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Manual focus | ![]() | More exact focusing | ||
Screen type | Tilting | ![]() | Fixed | Tilting screen |
Reasons to pick Panasonic S3 over the Olympus E-330
S3 | E-330 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Introduced | January 2011 | ![]() | March 2006 | More recent by 58 months |
Screen sizing | 2.7" | ![]() | 2.5" | Bigger screen (+0.2") |
Screen resolution | 230k | ![]() | 215k | Crisper screen (+15k dot) |
Common features in the Olympus E-330 and Panasonic S3
E-330 | S3 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Selfie screen | ![]() | Lacking selfie screen | ||
Touch friendly screen | ![]() | Lacking Touch friendly screen |
Olympus E-330 vs Panasonic S3 Physical Comparison
For those who are looking to lug around your camera frequently, you're going to have to think about its weight and volume. The Olympus E-330 provides outside measurements of 140mm x 87mm x 72mm (5.5" x 3.4" x 2.8") accompanied by a weight of 616 grams (1.36 lbs) whilst the Panasonic S3 has sizing of 99mm x 59mm x 21mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 0.8") along with a weight of 117 grams (0.26 lbs).
Look at the Olympus E-330 vs Panasonic S3 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Do not forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you have at the time. Below is the front view proportions comparison of the E-330 versus the S3.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-330 and S3 is 65 and 96 respectively.

Olympus E-330 vs Panasonic S3 Sensor Comparison
Normally, it's difficult to visualise the difference in sensor measurements merely by going through specs. The visual here will help provide you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-330 and S3.
As you can plainly see, the 2 cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-330 because of its bigger sensor will make achieving shallow depth of field easier and the Panasonic S3 will provide greater detail due to its extra 7 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also allow you to crop pictures far more aggressively. The older E-330 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.

Olympus E-330 vs Panasonic S3 Screen and ViewFinder


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-330 vs Panasonic S3 Specifications
Olympus E-330 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-S3 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Brand | Olympus | Panasonic |
Model type | Olympus E-330 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-S3 |
Also called as | EVOLT E-330 | - |
Type | Advanced DSLR | Small Sensor Compact |
Announced | 2006-03-18 | 2011-01-05 |
Physical type | Mid-size SLR | Compact |
Sensor Information | ||
Chip | - | Venus Engine IV |
Sensor type | CMOS | CCD |
Sensor size | Four Thirds | 1/2.3" |
Sensor dimensions | 17.3 x 13mm | 6.08 x 4.56mm |
Sensor surface area | 224.9mm² | 27.7mm² |
Sensor resolution | 7MP | 14MP |
Anti alias filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 4:3 | 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 |
Highest Possible resolution | 3136 x 2352 | 4320 x 3240 |
Maximum native ISO | 400 | 6400 |
Maximum enhanced ISO | 1600 | - |
Min native ISO | 100 | 100 |
RAW format | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Focus manually | ||
Touch focus | ||
AF continuous | ||
AF single | ||
Tracking AF | ||
AF selectice | ||
Center weighted AF | ||
Multi area AF | ||
Live view AF | ||
Face detection focusing | ||
Contract detection focusing | ||
Phase detection focusing | ||
Total focus points | 3 | 11 |
Lens | ||
Lens mount type | Micro Four Thirds | fixed lens |
Lens zoom range | - | 28-112mm (4.0x) |
Maximal aperture | - | f/3.1-5.6 |
Macro focusing distance | - | 5cm |
Amount of lenses | 45 | - |
Crop factor | 2.1 | 5.9 |
Screen | ||
Type of screen | Tilting | Fixed Type |
Screen sizing | 2.5" | 2.7" |
Resolution of screen | 215 thousand dots | 230 thousand dots |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch screen | ||
Screen technology | - | TFT LCD |
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder | Optical (pentamirror) | None |
Viewfinder coverage | 95% | - |
Viewfinder magnification | 0.47x | - |
Features | ||
Minimum shutter speed | 60 seconds | 8 seconds |
Fastest shutter speed | 1/4000 seconds | 1/1600 seconds |
Continuous shutter rate | 3.0fps | 2.0fps |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Manual mode | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | - |
Custom WB | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Inbuilt flash | ||
Flash distance | - | 3.30 m |
Flash modes | Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction |
Hot shoe | ||
AEB | ||
WB bracketing | ||
Fastest flash synchronize | 1/180 seconds | - |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment | ||
Average | ||
Spot | ||
Partial | ||
AF area | ||
Center weighted | ||
Video features | ||
Video resolutions | - | 1280 x 720 (30fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) |
Maximum video resolution | None | 1280x720 |
Video data format | - | MPEG-4 |
Mic port | ||
Headphone port | ||
Connectivity | ||
Wireless | None | None |
Bluetooth | ||
NFC | ||
HDMI | ||
USB | USB 1.0 (1.5 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
GPS | None | None |
Physical | ||
Environment sealing | ||
Water proofing | ||
Dust proofing | ||
Shock proofing | ||
Crush proofing | ||
Freeze proofing | ||
Weight | 616g (1.36 lbs) | 117g (0.26 lbs) |
Dimensions | 140 x 87 x 72mm (5.5" x 3.4" x 2.8") | 99 x 59 x 21mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 0.8") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO Overall rating | not tested | not tested |
DXO Color Depth rating | not tested | not tested |
DXO Dynamic range rating | not tested | not tested |
DXO Low light rating | not tested | not tested |
Other | ||
Battery life | - | 250 photos |
Battery type | - | Battery Pack |
Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec) |
Time lapse shooting | ||
Type of storage | Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card | SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal |
Card slots | Single | Single |
Price at release | $1,100 | $110 |